halifax
- 08 Sep 2010 16:04
sp reacting to to RNS confirming funding available to develop their palm oil concession in Liberia.
aldwickk
- 01 Aug 2011 20:24
- 110 of 132
Slight upward movement today , at last.
(01 Aug, 2011)
Palm oil gained for the first time in three days, joining a rally in commodities and stocks, after President Barack Obama said Congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise U.S. debt ceiling, avoiding a default.
aldwickk
- 26 Aug 2011 18:38
- 111 of 132
Sold all my PAL shares , and put most of the proceeds into VGM and NYO
dreamcatcher
- 26 Aug 2011 18:42
- 112 of 132
Did you fall out of love with them aldwickk?
aldwickk
- 05 Oct 2011 19:00
- 114 of 132
Can't see no reason why it won't recover , just like the market I don't know when .
mitzy
- 24 Oct 2011 16:58
- 116 of 132
Hope you took a fw profits ald.
halifax
- 27 Oct 2011 16:37
- 117 of 132
2012 should be a transforming year for PAL as production ramps up.
kernow
- 07 Nov 2011 16:22
- 120 of 132
movement - but no news I've seen?
aldwickk
- 07 Nov 2011 22:17
- 121 of 132
I noticed that , like to buy back in at some point
kernow
- 25 Jan 2012 11:31
- 122 of 132
Now looks like a good time - the new mill must be performing well judging by the move northwards
aldwickk
- 25 Jan 2012 12:52
- 123 of 132
Yes , I bought back in @16p
aldwickk
- 10 May 2012 08:00
- 126 of 132
10 May 2012
EQUATORIAL PALM OIL PLC
("EPO" or the "Company")
Audited Results for the year ended 31 December 2011
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Equatorial Palm Oil plc, (AIM: PAL) the AIM listed palm oil production and development company with operations in Liberia, West Africa announces its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2011.
Financial Highlights:
· Maiden revenues achieved from the Company's first crude palm oil ("CPO") sales.
· Loss of US$2,167,000 (2010: US$4,401,000).
· Cash held by EPO at year end was US$1,329,000 (2010: US$6,760,000).
· Cash held by Liberian Palm Developments Ltd. ("LPD"), EPO's 50% joint venture company which holds the oil palm assets, was US$7,854,000 (2010: n/a), excluding a US$10m loan LPD made in October 2011 which has now been repaid in full.
Operational Highlights:
· Successfully planted 1,100 hectares of new oil palms, having re-habilitated over 3,500 hectares of existing palms to provide interim mill feed.
· Completed the implementation of the joint venture agreement with BioPalm Energy Limited ("BioPalm"), a subsidiary of the Siva Group, an Indian conglomerate. BioPalm also committed to a cash injection of US$30m and an additional US$30m loan facility guarantee.
· Strengthened management team with the appointments of Mr. Declan Griffin as Head of Country - Liberia and Mr. Sashi Nambiar as Head of Operations, both with extensive experience managing oil palm estates and large-scale operations.
· Continued progress on local infrastructure including roads, bridges, housing, schools and health clinics.
Outlook:
· Continued expansion of the Palm Bay and Butaw nursery sites to accommodate an increased planting schedule.
· CPO price widely expected to remain strong in the face of production shortfalls and increased demand for sustainable CPO.
Michael Frayne, Executive Chairman of Equatorial Palm Oil commented:
"I am pleased to report on the excellent growth that EPO has achieved in 2011. The Company continues to progress from strength to strength at a time of increasing palm oil prices amid a louder calling for sustainable production. The inauguration and final commissioning of Liberia's only commercial palm oil mill at the Palm Bay Estate puts EPO in a strong position to not only enhance cash flow but to train our employees for future expansion. Furthermore, our progress in planting at the Palm Bay Estate and the expansion of nurseries provides the basis for successful operations in years to come.
Thank you to all of our employees for their hard work and dedication. I look forward to updating the market on continued progress."
Notice of Annual General Meeting
Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Equatorial Palm Oil plc (the "Company") will be held at the offices of SGH Martineau LLP, 5th Floor, One America Square, Crosswall, London EC3N 2SG on Monday 18th June2012 at 11am.
Equatorial Palm Oil plc
Michael Frayne (Executive Chairman)
www.epoil.co.uk
+44 (0) 20 7766 7555
Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Adviser)
James Harris / Paul Cocker
+44 (0) 20 7409 3494
Mirabaud Securities LLP (Broker)
Peter Krens
+44 (0) 20 7484 3510
Pelham Bell Pottinger (Financial / Corporate PR)
Archie Berens / Philippe Polman
+44 (0) 20 7861 3232
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
2011 has been another year of significant progression for Equatorial Palm Oil plc ("EPO" or the "Company").
In February 2011, EPO announced the completion of the implementation of the Joint Venture ("JV") arrangement between Equatorial Biofuels (Guernsey) Limited, a subsidiary of EPO, and BioPalm Energy Limited ("BioPalm"), a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate, the Siva Group. The arrangement injected US$30 million into Liberian Palm Developments Limited ("LPD"), the JV company in which Equatorial Biofuels (Guernsey) Limited and BioPalm each hold 50%. Additionally, BioPalm will arrange and guarantee a US$30 million loan facility to LPD.
As the operator of LPD, EPO is applying the US$60 million in JV funding to accelerate its strategic development plan in respect of its c.169,000 hectare land position at Palm Bay, Butaw and River Cess.
2011 saw us entering into a new stage of development, marked by the planting of 1,100 hectares of new oil palms and the commencement of production of crude palm oil ("CPO") following the construction and commissioning of the state-of-the-art palm oil mill at Palm Bay.
Liberia is attracting a significant amount of foreign investment, including in the agriculture sector, as the country benefits from further stability in the country's political process. During the period Liberia held its second successful democratic election with the incumbent President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, being elected for a further five year term.
Operational Review
Palm Bay Estate
The Palm Bay Estate is located 25 kilometres from the deep-water port of Buchanan. LPD will be relocating its head office to Buchanan, given its proximity to Palm Bay and the importance of future operations at the port, where LPD plans to establish a storage tank farm.
During the financial year, LPD achieved the significant milestone of completing the first 1,100 hectares of new planting. This planting has provided an additional benefit in strengthening the skills base of the planting staff in preparation for a significant increase in planting rates in the years to come. This important employee development and training provides a key foundation to the successful expansion of operations.
The capacity of the nursery on Palm Bay Estate has been significantly increased to over 60 hectares, to support the 2012 and 2013 planting schedule.
Oil Palm Mill
In May 2011, the oil palm mill at Palm Bay Estate was inaugurated following eight months of construction and testing. The small but state-of-the-art mill is capable of processing five tonnes of fresh fruit bunches ("FFB") per hour and is processing the FFB harvested from some of the 3,500 hectares of rehabilitated palms on Palm Bay.
The mill is strategically important to us for several reasons including:
· training and development of staff - the technology is very similar to that in larger mills, providing staff with a solid foundation in technology and processes for the acquisition and implementation of larger capacity mills to service the future growth in operations and production; and
· early cash flows and establishment of a route to market - as the only commercial operating mill in Liberia, this will facilitate the establishment of key CPO marketing channels and customer relationships, which will be of importance when larger volume production comes on stream.
We were honoured to have the mill inaugurated by the Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, reflecting the importance to Liberia of the development of LPD's project and the implementation of such value adding processing technology.
First Sales of CPO
First sales of CPO into the Liberian market occurred during the year and a larger sales process is on-going as the volumes of CPO production ramp up.
Butaw Estate
The main activity at Butaw consisted of the establishment of the first nursery and the upgrading of essential facilities including roads, bridges, housing, power and schools.
The nursery was established in September 2011 and now covers over 40 hectares, to support the 2012 and 2013 planting schedule.
As the second development site, Butaw is progressing well and the Company is excited about the excellent future potential of this Estate. Our current strategy is for Butaw to be planting at a similar rate to Palm Bay by 2013.
Butaw is located 42 kilometres from the deep water port of Greenville where LPD intends to establish a storage tank farm.
River Cess
In 2010 we signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the elected representatives of the people of River Cess County in order to work with them to develop a significant oil palm concession. The leaders of River Cess County are very supportive towards the establishment of commercial oil palm agriculture in their county, given the considerable employment and other economic benefits it will bring to this region.
The expansion potential is up to 80,000 hectares and River Cess is ideally located in-between our existing estates, allowing these projects to benefit from infrastructure works at both Butaw and Palm Bay and more importantly access to deep water ports at Buchanan and Greenville.
We are now working with local officials in order to convert the MOU into a full concession with the Liberian government.
Financial Review
The loss of the Group for the 12 months ended 31 December 2011 of $2,167,000 (2010: $4,401,000) was in line with expectations. Cash held by the Group as at 31 December 2011 was $1,329,000 (2010: $6,760,000), which did not include cash held by LPD.
In October 2011, LPD entered into a US$10 million term loan facility agreement for 6 months with two companies affiliated with JV partner BioPalm. This loan to BioPalm of cash that was surplus to the requirements of the JV for the period of the loan, provided the benefit of significantly greater rate of return than is available from deposit with the major banks. The loan was repaid on time and in full on 5 April 2012, together with accrued interest and an arrangement fee totalling US$350,684.93.
As at 31 December 2011, cash held by LPD was $7,854,000 (2010: n/a), which does not include the above US$10 million loan to BioPalm which has now been fully repaid.
The Community
We have always been committed to the social and economic development of the local communities in which we operate. Having an operating mill in place provides a very important and valuable platform to train local workers and increase the skills base for future development. Now that the mill is producing at full capacity, the employees are gaining first-hand experience in the operation and management of a palm oil mill. Not only will this offset training costs in the future when production will increase significantly, but it will also be a direct influence on the practical engineering, technical skills and operational knowledge gained by the employees.
Furthermore, we continue to support the education of local children, requiring the school attendance of employee's children, whilst also opening the classrooms to children in the area neighbouring the estates. Our schools now have approximately 580 students with a curriculum covering a range of disciplines.
All of these initiatives mean we are playing a significant part in creating a new generation of skilled workers to develop the Liberian economy.
Personnel
During the period, we were pleased to announce the addition of two key senior personnel in Liberia, Mr Declan Griffin as Head of Country - Liberia, and Mr Sashi Nambiar as Head of Operations.
Mr Griffin has the overall responsibility for all in-country operations, including the finance and administration functions, and has almost 30 years of global experience working in similar roles.
Mr Nambiar has 32 years' experience in all aspects of oil palm estates and has supervised the establishment and development of estates with a combined area of more than 100,000 hectares, including managing over 20,000 hectares of new planting development at Ketapang, Indonesia.
During the period, Mr Peter Bayliss resigned from his position as Managing Director of the Company in order to pursue other business interests, with his Director functions assumed by Mr Geoffrey Brown, the Company's Executive Plantations Director. Mr Brown has been an integral part of the Company's leadership team since the initial involvement in the Liberian project, and he brings almost 40 years' experience in the development and management of oil palm estates around the world. The Board would like to thank Mr Bayliss for his significant contribution to the Company.
On behalf of the Board I would like to welcome Mr Griffin and Mr Nambiar to our team and to thank all our employees for the tremendous progress that has been achieved during the year.
Outlook
The palm oil market fundamentals continue to look positive, with significant shortfalls in production at a time when demand is expected to continue increasing. The palm oil price continues to strengthen, pushing towards the highest recorded pricing in the last twelve months.
I would like to thank all those involved in the Company for their significant contribution as well as shareholders for their support, and I look forward to updating you on the continued progress in the year ahead and the creation of value for all stakeholders.
Michael Frayne
Executive Chairman
aldwickk
- 16 May 2012 13:57
- 127 of 132
What to much rain can do , doesn't seem to be a big problem for PAL so far.
New Britain Palm Oil's adjusted pre-tax profits fell to $34.1m in the three months to the end of March - down from $80.4m last time.
Sales fell to $146.9m - down from $197.6m - and gross profits dropped to $67.4m from $107.8m.
The group processed 597,585 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches in the first quarter - 8.3% lower than the corresponding period last year, due almost entirely to extremely high rainfall.
aldwickk
- 18 May 2012 19:03
- 128 of 132
PAL share price holding up well
aldwickk
- 25 May 2012 10:20
- 129 of 132
24 May 2012
EQUATORIAL PALM OIL plc
("EPO" or the "Company")
Posting of Accounts and Annual General Meeting
Equatorial Palm Oil plc, (AIM: PAL), the AIM listed palm oil development company with operations in Liberia, announces that its Report and Accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2011 have today been posted to shareholders and will be made available on the Company's website at www.epoil.co.uk.
As announced previously, the Annual General Meeting will be held at 11.00am on Monday 18 June at the offices of SGH Martineau LLP, 5th Floor, One America Square, Crosswall, London EC3N 2SG.
- END -